The subject matter disclosed herein relates to communication systems, and more particularly, to systems and methods of conducting a communication using division free duplexing.
A wireless communication network may include multiple communication devices capable of communicating wirelessly. Communications may be made between the multiple communication devices through various communication routes. Depending on the configuration of the network, communication routes may be made from one communication device to another via central network nodes which connect the devices, or communication routes may include links between any devices of the network. For example, a communication network may include one or more subnetworks, each with one or more central network nodes which link several devices (e.g., cellular phones) within subnetworks of the communication network. Devices in the network may communicate via links within and between the subnetworks. Networks may also be configured such that links may be formed between any of the devices of the network, and for a first device to communicate with a second device, links may be formed from one device to another until a communication route is formed between the first and second devices.
Generally, the communication route between two communicating devices may involve two signals transmitted between the devices, where one signal is transmitted from the first device and received at the second device, and another signal is transmitted from the second device and received at the first device. As the communication route involves the transmission of two different signals, direct interference may occur between the oppositely propagating signals. To avoid interference in network communication routes, duplex communication systems may typically be employed. A duplex system may involve time-division and/or frequency-division to allow two communicating devices to both transmit and receive information (e.g., data, voice signals, etc.). For example, time-division duplexing may use time-division multiplexing to separate incoming (received) and outgoing (transmitted) signals. As incoming and outgoing signals may be separated in time, the signals may be carried on the same frequency. Furthermore, the time-division of the signals may be sufficiently fast such that signals may be perceived as being transmitted and received simultaneously. Frequency-division duplexing may involve signal transmitters and receivers which operate on different frequencies. The frequencies of the transmitted and received signals may be sufficiently separated such that their modulated frequency spectra do not overlap. The receiver of each communication device may be tuned to receive an intended frequency and reject its own transmitted signal. By transmitting signals through different frequency spectra, the transmitting and receiving of signals may occur simultaneously.
Although division duplex systems may enable the near-simultaneous transmitting and receiving of signals, such systems may be insufficient for some communication networks, which have become increasingly complex. For example, networks using time-division duplex systems may lose time in receiving the signals due to the time-multiplexing of signals, and networks using frequency-division duplex systems may have a limited amount of frequency spectra available for transmission links which support an increasingly large number of communication devices.